More than 200 franchise brand websites were reviewed by industry judges, and 75 were recognized as best-in-class. Each of these categories were meticulously evaluated by a panel of 12 judges and given a score on a ten-point scale; the website rankings are based on a composite average of these scores. Buffalo Wings & Rings was a best of the best, ranking 4th overall with a score of 7.41.

The judging panel was comprised of industry experts: Sean Fitzgerald, of 1851 Franchise; Nick Powills, of No Limit Agency; Batchelor, CEO and Jack Monson, Director of Digital Strategy, of Qiigo; Michelle Rowan, President of Franchise Business Review; Craig Slavin, CEO of Franchise Navigator; Jamshaid Hashmi, CEO of ClickTecs; Kay Ainsley, Managing Director of MSA Worldwide; Keith Gerson, President of FranConnect; Stan Friedman, President of FRM Solutions; Steve Beagelman, CEO of SMB Franchise Advisors; and Todd Bingham, President of Pinnacle. Each judge was tasked with judging hundreds of submissions, from which they awarded 75 standout franchise development websites with a gold, silver or bronze designation.